Published: May 30, 2007 10:09 pm         

Elderly abuse trial opens in Fayette Circuit Court

FAYETTEVILLE — Fayette County prosecutors presented two witnesses Wednesday in their case against a Fayetteville woman on charges of elder abuse that led to the death 17 months ago of a woman who lived on her property.

Jewell Parsons, 44, of Crooked Run Road, was indicted in January in the death of Naomi L. King, 68, in December 2005. Parsons was arrested in February 2006.

She faces one count each of intentional neglect of an elder person, misappropriation or misuse of funds of an elder person by means of deception and embezzlement by misuse of a fiduciary relationship.

Assistant prosecutor Anthony Ciliberti pressed his case on the latter two charges Wednesday afternoon via one representative each from the U.S. Department of Labor and the Social Security Administration. The morning was spent selecting a jury, which ultimately consisted of eight men and four women.

According to initial police reports, Parsons identified herself to the staff at Raleigh General Hospital as King’s caregiver of about 20 years and as the representative payee for her Social Security benefits. King also received black lung benefits that resulted from her father’s suffering from the ailment.

Richard Hannah, district manager for the Labor Department in Charleston, explained that Chester King — Naomi’s father — was the original claimant for black lung benefits. Hannah confirmed, under questioning from Ciliberti, that it would be improper to place a beneficiary’s funds in the payee’s personal bank account.

“The account must clearly indicate that it is a black lung account,” Hannah said, adding regulations on the relationship between beneficiary and payee are not as stringent if the two live in the same home. By the time his nearly two hours of testimony were complete, Hannah had described and read excerpts from 26 state exhibits.

Dwane Tinsley, Parsons’ lawyer, questioned Hannah about whether any of his claims examiners had ever explained any of the payee’s rights and responsibilities to Parsons. Hannah conceded the list of rights and responsibilities does not explicitly state that a payee may not place benefits in a personal bank account.

Hannah acknowledged nothing negative had been reported about Parsons during her tenure as King’s payee between 1985 and 2005. Prior to 1997, Social Security had supervision of such accounts, Hannah noted.

Under further questioning from Ciliberti, Hannah observed that a message urging the payee to “please read the following information” rests above the list of rights and responsibilities. Just below the list, he said, was Parsons’ (at that time Jewell Milam) signature.

Hannah admitted to Tinsley his office would have started an investigation of Parsons had it found something wrong with her paperwork. However, no action was taken.

Charles Cruise, district manager of Beckley’s Social Security office, fielded some of the same questions. A payee “should not charge a fee of any sort,” he told Ciliberti. Cruise also confirmed Hannah’s testimony that it would be inappropriate for a payee to place a beneficiary’s money in a personal bank account.

“(SSA) looks to the best person to be the payee, and you found that to be (Parsons),” Tinsley queried.

“That is what we determined,” Cruise replied.

Cruise, who started working for Social Security in 1987, said the King file had since been lost. “I could not confirm that,” he answered when Tinsley asked if Parsons had been informed of her rights and responsibilities as a payee. Cruise also stated that, as far as he knew, Parsons was never investigated by SSA.

Ciliberti was told by Cruise that payees are not investigated as a matter of routine and that he could not confirm one way or the other if Parsons had ever been investigated. He added his office handles approximately 23,000 cases. A payee, he added, is also required to declare any reserve funds he or she sets aside.

At the end of the day’s session, Circuit Judge John Hatcher chided Ciliberti over his decision to publish 29 state exhibits to the jury around 4 p.m.

“I had wanted to get at least one more witness in here today,” Hatcher lamented.

Assistant prosecutor Jennifer Hewitt took care of the opening statement for the state, claiming Parsons left King “to rot” in the trailer where she stayed and that several thousand dollars in benefits owed to King were unaccounted for.

Tinsley argued there were two sides to every story and that paramedics, police, hospital staff and prosecutors succumbed to a “rush to judgment” in blaming Parsons for King’s death and deteriorated condition.

He described King’s family as “dysfunctional” and alleged her parents practiced strange beliefs and practices as they related to seeking professional medical assistance and going outside of the home.

According to Sheriff Bill Laird, state Adult Protective Services officials notified his office of King’s condition when she was admitted to Raleigh General Hospital in Beckley following an emergency call to her residence.

King died following a week of treatment at the hospital. Her body was transported to the state medical examiner’s officer in South Charleston for an autopsy, where Dr. James A. Kaplan classified King’s injuries to police as “heinous abuse.”

The state resumes its case today.

— E-mail:

mhill@register-herald.com